Sunday, February 28, 2010

There is this thing called the Institute for Justice. The Institute for Justice has a Texas Chapter, working out of Austin.

Supposedly the Institute for Justice fights to secure property rights, economic liberty, freedom of speech and school choice and to help Texas property owners in a range of property rights disputes, including eminent domain, annexation, zoning, special districts and citizen referendums.

There is a heavily reported case of eminent domain abuse and freedom of speech suppression here in the Tarrant County town of Fort Worth, Texas involving Steve Doeung and his fight against Chesapeake Energy and the City of Fort Worth, to try to keep his home from being taken via eminent domain.

When I say eminent domain is being used to attempt to take Steve Doeung's home, by home I mean the place where one feels safe and secure in the privacy of ones home. Steve Doeung believes, and with good reason, that a non-odorized natural gas pipeline running under his home is an unacceptable risk, thus it would compromise the quality of his home, taking it from Steve Doeung, really, no differently than if his home were forcibly taken.

Up til now Steve Doeung has been a Lone Ranger, for the most part. He is alone no longer. On Thursday the Carter Avenue Rescue Operation is holding a Rally at the Tarrant County Courthouse to Support Steve in his Battle for Life, Liberty and his Pursuit of Happiness.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

As you can see we are having a blue sky Saturday here in Fort Worth, Texas. A warm blue sky Saturday. 60 degrees warm. It feels almost tropical.

The balmy temperatures had a lot of people playing in Oakland Lake Park. Including a group playing baseball. A sure sign Spring will soon be here.

I forgot to notice if the turtles had come back out of hibernation. I'm sure they have.

I also forgot to mention that I took my daily constitutional at Oakland Lake Park, my new default walking location, til the Tandy Hills dry out. Maybe I'll see if the Tandy Hills are dry enough for foot traffic tomorrow.

You're looking at Little Fosdic Lake in the picture. It is south of Fosdic Lake. It caught my eye today because it was being so blue and there were 2 big ducks and 2 baby ducks merrily quacking away on Little Fosdic Lake. By the time I whipped my camera out of my pocket and turned it on, the duck family nervously began to exit the lake. By the time I managed to snap a picture the ducks had made shore.

I have been informed the Queen of Wink, and her entourage, will be making the 500 plus mile journey from her far West Texas Wink Kingdom to the Eminent Domain Abuse Capital of the World, next Thursday, to lend her Royal aura to the CARO Carter Avenue Worldwide Rescue Operation.

Now, if the Queen of Wink is willing to go to such extreme measures to show her support for Steve Doeung and Carter Avenue in their Battle Against Chesapeake Energy and the City of Fort Worth, how can you, if you have a clear conscience, keep it clear, if don't haul yourself down to downtown Fort Worth next Thursday?

Ironically, Vladimir lives in the country that pretty much invented eminent domain abuse and used to be the world capital of such abuse, when it was the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union eminent domain abuse was called Communism.

The Communists used to run roughshod over the Soviet people. If the Communists decided they wanted to drill for natural gas where you lived, they'd just remove you from your land, using some flimsy legalese, maybe throwing you in the Gulag if you did not leave your land peacefully.

If the Communists wanted to run a non-odorized natural gas pipeline under your home and you didn't want them to, tough luck, they'd go through some trumped up legal formality and build the pipeline.

If the Communists wanted to build a new stadium, where dozens of homes and apartment buildings sat, they'd inform the apartment dwellers and homeowners they had to get out, because the people need a stadium. And then bring in the bulldozers.

Activists shouted from the audience, asking McClendon questions he did not want to answer.

McClendon gave up on his lecture 40 minutes early. He was clearly shaken by the angry, informed reaction.

One protester shoved a jar of dirty water at McClendon, saying it represented fracking water and asked McClendon if he was willing to drink it.

As McClendon fled the building he was serenaded with eco-protest songs.

One observer's personal account...

"McClendon was very rude. He mocked the people who were worried about health defects and got defensive and completely lost his composure when we were quick to respond to his sarcasm with solid responses. He is not a nice man, not at all. When we told him we were delivering messages from directly impacted communities, we were told to "keep our comments to just questions", so we asked him if he would be willing to listen to the voices of the people who are feeling the effects of his business, he said "I will only answer questions" so pretty much "No". People definitely got our message. We are considering this action a "win". Solidarity to yall from Boston."

I think I can speak for CARO when I say if Aubrey McClendon shows up at the Save Carter Avenue Rally, Thursday, March 4, on the Tarrant County Courthouse steps and wants to speak to the Rally to inform the people of Fort Worth that he has ordered Chesapeake Energy to drop its eminent domain assault on Steve Doeung and abandoned the plans to put a non-odorized natural gas pipeline under Carter Avenue, that the people at the Rally will greet him with huge round of Southern Hospitality.

I don't remember when I've been more ready for the end of winter. I think this is the most miserable winter I've ever been through.

Or maybe the previous Texas winters spoiled me and my memory of Washington winters has faded.

My therapist, Dr. L.C., told me, this morning, that I needed to take my daily therapeutic walk early, due to incoming rain. Once again, I erred by not listening to my therapist's advice.

When I left my abode I did not realize the precipitation had begun. Usually I hear it hitting my windows. But at noon the wet stuff was in the form of a strong drizzle, being blown semi-horizontal. It seems as if Fort Worth has been moved to the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

So, I bailed on my planned excursion and instead went over to Miss Puerto Rico's to take a drizzly picture from her balcony. As usual, my photo skills do not do justice to the horizontal drizzle.

On the semi-bright side, if there possibly is one, the 5 day forecast does not foresee a return to freezing.

The Full O' Bull comes on a dish the size of an extra large pizza pan. If I finish the platter I get all that bull for free, plus an "I came to Cowtown Diner Hungry and Left Full O' Bull" t-shirt.

If I don't finish the bull platter it will cost me $69.95. I don't know if that includes tax and tip.

What is the liability of the Cowtown Diner if I keel over with a heart attack? Or burst my internal plumbing? I estimate there are 10-11,000 calories in this little dinner. I have been trying to amp up my calorie intake as part of my weighing 300 pounds by the time I'm 30 goal.

The Cowtown Diner's Full O' Bull is not an original idea. A restaurant in Amarillo, the Big Texan Steak Ranch, has been helping Texans get fatter for years. At the Big Texan Steak Ranch you have an hour to eat a 72 ounce steak dinner. I don't know what the trimmings are. Over 35,000 have tried, with over 7,000 succeeding at not having to pay $50 for the big steak.

In this week's FW Weekly Billy Mitchell has a new Anti Eminent Domain Abuse ad. The new ad is a full page on the inside cover. And on the opposite page is last week's half page ad.

When you attend next Thursday's Downtown Fort Worth Rally, in support of Steve Doeung and Carter Avenue in their battle against Chesapeake Energy's abuse of eminent domain, you will find that Billy Mitchell is one of the featured speakers.

Below is what Billy Mitchell had to say in this week's FW Weekly....

Eminent domain is so easy under Governor Rick Perry, that the City of Willow Park used it to try to put their sewer plant in ANNETTA NORTH's jurisdiction. RIGHT NOW Willow Park has an application filed with TCEQ to put their sewer plant in THE CITY OF ALEDO's jurisdiction (mighty neighborly!) Willow Park also used eminent domain to acquire a private water system that is not even close to their city limits, but is inside THE CITY OF ANNETTA and ANNETTA SOUTH. These selfish deeds were done against the will and without the consent of these cities. (Does Willow Park know where their city limit ends?)

Willow Park filed fee simple eminent domain on my family's farm and mineral rights at $6,500 an acre. FEE SIMPLE TITLE means they are going after everything including mineral rights. They saw a drilling rig preparing to drill a gas well on my property and asked if we own the mineral rights (maybe this is why they wrote FEE SIMPLE TITLE in the eminent domain papers!)

My family has owned this land for over forty years, it is in Aledo ISD, has a stock tank, multiple building sites, 100 year old pecan trees, Trinity River frontage, a coastal hay field, a sudan hay field, and a producing gas well ($6,500 an acre using Texas eminent domain law and a Parker County court.)

Willow Park informed me that they are leaving my family the building sites next to the sewer plant (how generous!) No guarantee of access, but we get to keep the home sites next to the sewer plant. (Just what I have always wanted, a home with no access, next to a sewer plant.)

Willow Park wrote in a certified letter to my family, "We are aware of your need to preserve adequate ingress and egress to the remainder of your property, and we will make every effort to try to meet your needs. The flexibility we have in doing this will be tempered by the City's obligations to maintain the integrity of our sewer site." (Maybe we can use Willow Park's airspace and fly to our home site with our cow suspended from a helicopter!)

Friendly criticism suggests I not use the word CRAP in my ads but use the word BULL instead. Another friend suggests, "Is Rick Perry a True Blue Conservative or Just Another Big Spending Politician?" These two suggestions do not communicate my true feelings toward Willow Park or Governor Rick Perry. I believe Rick Perry is beyond "Another Big Spending Politician." I believe the eminent domain abuse under Rick Perry and his political appointments to his campaign donors is "CRIMINAL."

Thursday, February 25, 2010

In the picture you are looking over the edge of Fosdic Lake Dam. I do not know what is wrong with my photo taking skills, in that I can never get something steep to look steep.

See that green thing about a third down the picture? That is a garbage can that was anchored on top of the dam yesterday. Since then some sad soul unanchored the garbage can and sent it down to the bottom of the dam.

This left a lot of litter laying on the ground or blowing in the wind.

I would have picked up some of the litter, but there was no garbage can to put it in.

All that tossed litter was a perfectly apt visual metaphor for how today has been for me.

I do not remember when I last got so many confused and confusing messages. It has sort of given me a headache. I very rarely get a headache.

I think I'm going to a Big Rally Protest Support Meeting thing next Thursday, if all goes as planned and no wagons lose their wheels. I think I'll be bringing protection muscle in the form of Big Ed, in case things get unruly and the Fort Worth Gestapo starts zapping with their tasers.

I think Gar the Texan is also going to be there. Gar has never participated in a public protest event before. I think he sees doing so as part of his ongoing personal growth plan. I do not know if Gar is bringing his German wife. I suspect not. German's have a reputation for turning events like this into Beer Hall Putsches. Well, actually, a Beer Hall Putsch is sort of what Fort Worth badly needs.

My therapist, Dr. L.C. will be there, as will Elsie Hotpepper. Tootsie Tonasket's divorce was final yesterday. Now that she is a free woman Tootsie may be coming to Fort Worth to do some rallying.

I do not believe the Queen of Wink and her Entourage will be making the journey east, to Fort Worth, next Thursday.

So, that has been my Thursday, so far, in Texas, making plans to protest in downtown Fort Worth, next Thursday. Fun times ahead.

Fighting against stronger forces. The weak against the strong. In that sense, the Alamo metaphor works. But, in the end, the defenders of the Alamo lost the battle and all the brave defenders were dead.

We want a different outcome for Steve Doeung and the people of Carter Avenue in their fight against Chesapeake Energy's plan to run a non-odorized natural gas pipeline under their homes.

The last time Steve Doeung was in court, to face his Chesapeake tormentors, he was supported by only one person, he being Fort Worth's #1 Watchdog, Don Young.

I remember this bothered me a lot. I believe I blogged about how appalled I was at the apathetic attitude of the people of Fort Worth regarding this bizarre case of eminent domain abuse. I wondered why the people of Carter Avenue were not there in the courtroom supporting Steve Doeung. I wondered why others were not there. I wondered why there was no organized protest over the fact that Chesapeake Energy was continuing its persecution of this fighting American, even after Chesapeake Energy let it be known there was an alternate route for their controversial pipeline.

Something is happening here (in Texas). What it is, isn't exactly clear. But it is clear, something is happening here. I think I may be detecting the ground doing some swelling. It is like suddenly a long dormant collective Texas conscience is being stirred to do something good.

I have mentioned, a time or two, in various ways, that all it takes for Evil to win, is for the Good People to do nothing.

Too many of the Good People of Fort Worth, and its environs, have done too little to stop Evil from winning, for too long.

I think the Era of Evil winning may be coming to an end in these parts of Texas.

I think maybe the corrupt mayor of Fort Worth, Mike Moncrief, and the rest of his good ol' boy network and the Barnett Shale gas drillers, who have Moncrief in their pocket, are about to learn something.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

That is not a plastic bag stuck in a tree. It is a big white bird perched in a Fosdic Lake tree at Oakland Lake Park.

As you can see, blue sky has returned, after yesterday's unpleasantness with gray skies, freezing temperatures and snow.

It is in the 50s out there right now a little after 5.

I was up in Southlake today during the period of my regular habitual walking.

Did you know that John Quincy Adams took a daily constitutional, in the form of a brisk 2 or 3 mile walk? In summer John Quincy Adams would go skinny dipping in the Potomac River.

Harry S Truman was also a heavy duty walker. Harry let members of the press walk with him, but few could keep up. I think it highly unlikely Harry S Truman ever went skinny dipping in the Potomac. I think by the time Harry was President the White House had a pool.

Anyway, back to me. After lunch I was determined to get a blogging written about a subject important to me. And then publish it when I got the go ahead.

Early this morning, while doing yoga, I came up with all sorts of really clever bombastic rhetoric. I thought to myself, I should be writing this stuff down. But that is hard to do when you are in the reverse plough position. I thought to myself, this is such good stuff, there is no way I'll forget.

But, post lunch, when I went to write, my brainpan had gone sluggish, due, I suspect, to diminished cerebral bloodflow due to that digestion business taking place.

So, I decided to get out of here and walk around Fosdic Lake, hoping to get the blood flowing again.

That was an hour ago. I'm feeling sort of recovered from my post-lunch sluggish state.

I was appalled at this Isis Eyesore the first time I saw it, over a decade ago. I wondered then why the city code people did not make the owner fix it up. As in put windows in the boarded over windows. And a few other cosmetic fixes.

This was to be one of my early lessons in how things operate different in Texas than what I was used to.

Years passed, I started my Eyes on Texas website. On that website there is a page, long neglected, that I called Texas Tacky, basically chronicling examples of things I came across, in Texas, that seemed tacky to me.

On June 7, 2007 I got an email from Robert Adams telling me the New Isis Theater was currently being renovated, with the renovation to be completed in 14-16 months. You can go to the Texas Tacky link and read Robert's email. It's an amusing one, due to the seat info about Big Texans.

This morning I got email from Lauren regarding the New Isis Theater.

Lauren said...

"Wanting info on the Isis theater? Any new info? That email was in 2007....just in case "Robert" lost track of time, it's 2010....few months my a$$... "

It has been a few months since I last eye-witnessed the fact that the New Isis is an even bigger eyesore than when I first lay my sore eyes on it, over 10 years ago.

And in another email about another eyesore, a really cool looking eyesore, that is not in Fort Worth, that being the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells. When I first saw the Baker Hotel it was one of the strangest things I'd ever come across. This enormous building in this small, sort of run-down town.

It was not as easy to find info on the Internet a decade ago, as it is now. I don't know if Google had yet been invented. For a long time my webpage about the Baker Hotel Googled #1 because there was so little info about it. Now you can find a lot of Baker Hotel info on the Internet.

The Baker Hotel came to my attention this morning due to an email from Connie. I'll copy the email below in case anyone other there has a suggestion for Connie.

To Whom It May Concern:

I have several old pictures of the Baker Hotel and several pieces of China that has the Baker Hotel Logo on it. I don't really know who to contact about these items. Could someone help me? And if you are interested in the items, please contact me.

That is rocking, gun-loving hunter Ted Nugent standing next to the current governor of Texas, Rick Perry.

Rick Perry is known in these parts as Governor Good Hair. Due to the ethic that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, with his hair being thought, by many, to be the only good thing about the man.

This was about the same time that Rick Perry announced that Texas was suing the Environmental Protection Agency because the EPA would like Texas to quit putting so many nasty toxins into the atmosphere and the water.

Months ago Rick Perry brought up the idea of Texas seceding from the Union again. Apparently there are some in Texas who don't believe Texas is bound to the Union by the same ties as the rest of the state, due to some technicality from the early days when Texas transitioned from being an independent republic to merging with the United States.

The idea of Texas no longer being in the Union had me pondering if this would be a good thing or a bad thing.

How would America be different if Texas seceded in 1959, for instance?

Well, Lyndon B. Johnson would not have been a U.S. Senator or John F. Kennedy's vice-president.

JFK would not have been in Dallas on November 23, 1963. JFK likely would have served 2 full terms. We might have avoided the Vietnam Quagmire.

Race relations might have more rapidly improved, with none of the rioting of the 60s.

Without the shock of the JFK assassination and Vietnam, the 60s might not have become such a turbulent, revolutionary time.

Had JFK served out 2 terms it is highly unlikely Richard Nixon would have become President in 1968.

So, without Texas in the Union, we would not have gone through Watergate.

Without Texas the quote, "Houston, we've got a problem," would never have been uttered.

Without Texas in the Union there would have been no President George W. Bush.

Without Texas the 9/11 attacks may still have occurred, but it is unlikely we would have managed to come up with another President who would have led us into invading and occupying Iraq.

Without Texas being able to give America George W. Bush, I'm guessing the American and World economy would be in a lot better place in 2010.

I must back up in time a bit. Did George W.'s dad run as a Texan? Or from Maine? I don't remember. I'm thinking George Bush, the 1st, did do some good things for America that might have turned out differently had someone else been President. Like how Bush, the 1st, handled the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, how he handled the collapse of communism. George, the 1st, seems like such a wise man compared to his smirking offspring.

I'm sure if I pondered it longer I could think of other ways America would be different if Texas had seceded in 1959, but right now I draw a blank.

Oh. I just thought of another. If Texas were not in the Union, the EPA would have nothing to do with Texas.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I'd been stuck at the computer til 2, or thereabouts. I had need to do some pondering. Pondering works best, for me, while wandering. So, I wandered around Village Creek Natural Historic Area, while I pondered.

What has me pondering is all the eminent domain abuse taking place in Texas. Well, actually an element of the abuse, which only recently was pointed out to me.

I was barely moved to Texas when I was shocked by my first exposure to eminent domain abuse, that being the taking of Hurst citizen's homes so the Northeast Mall could expand its parking lot.

The next abuse of eminent domain happened in Fort Worth when hundreds of low income citizens were booted out of the Ripley Arnold apartments so that Radio Shack could build a new corporate headquarters it could not afford and which is now a branch of Tarrant County Community College.

Next up was the dislocation of over 1,000 people, the taking of dozens of homes, apartment complexes and businesses, so Jerry Jones could build a new football stadium in Arlington. At least out of that worst case of eminent domain abuse in American history the mayor of Arlington, Chuck Cluck, wised up and said there'd be no more use of eminent domain, by the city, in cahoots with Jones.

And then it's back to Fort Worth, where eminent domain is being abused to take homes, businesses and land for something that goes by various names, Trinity River Vision, Trinity Uptown Project, or Fort Worth's Biggest Boondoggle. This use of eminent domain for a project ostensibly for the greater public good, has not been voted on by the public.

And then we stay in Fort Worth for what I think is the worst abuse of eminent domain yet. The scale may be smaller, but the abuse is greater. Courtesy of Chesapeake Energy and the City of Fort Worth.

Chesapeake Energy has evoked eminent domain to take Steve Doeung's home. Steve decided to fight this in court. As is his right.

So, how is it right that a private company, like Chesapeake Energy, can put a private citizen, like Steve Doeung, in harm's way, via the installation of a non-odorized natural gas pipeline under his land, using the legal system to do so?

A citizen is thus forced into the position of having to defend himself, from this assault on his right to peace in his own home. And this defense is at his expense. How is that right? It is as if you are being metaphorically raped, by the very government that is supposed to protect you, and while you are being metaphorically raped you can not get any legal help to stop the metaphorical rape.

I would think it only common sense that if a private company wants to put a private citizen in harm's way, via the use of eminent domain to take their property, well that private company should have to provide funds so that the victim of their metaphorical rape at least has a fighting chance.

I don't know, for example, Chesapeake Energy files whatever legal documents they file to initiate eminent domain. As part of that filing Chesapeake puts up a bond of some amount sufficient to cover the legal help for the victim they are metaphorically raping.

I can not imagine how violated I would feel, suddenly having my home under assault by a corrupted city and a company the city is in cahoots with. And then to find that there is no mechanism in place to balance the playing field, to make it fair, to make certain the little guy does not get squashed by the big evil guy.

Just a couple days ago, or was it just yesterday, someone added a famous quote to a comment. The famous quote that goes something like "All it takes for Evil to prevail in the world, is for the Good people to do nothing."

I'm getting the sense that there is a rapidly increasing number of good people in the Fort Worth zone who are soon going to be prevailing against the evil in our midst. I'm often very intuitive about matters like this.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a really good editorial cartoonist named David Horsey. He has been doing his cartooning from Vancouver during the Winter Olympics. This morning's Horsey had a Texas punchline that I felt compelled to share. And some amusing comments that I'll stick below the Texas punchline, including one from WA_REDNCK verbalizing a sentiment I've heard innumerable times since I've been in Texas....

Posted by glaucomis sabrinus

Possibly one of the dumbest cartoons Ive seen, even by Horsey's low standards. pretty sad, Dave... surely you can come up with something that at least makes sense??

Posted by Blarney

Heh! Anyone else ever been to Vancouver on Canada Day? They're a lot WORSE than Texans!

Posted by TobyGadd

Hey glaucomis sabrinus, you might not get this one because you aren't too familiar with your northern neighbours. As a dual citizen (US & Canada), I think that it's a hilarious cartoon. Horsey nailed the Canadian and Texan worldviews pretty well--and succeeded in poking good-natured fun at both at the same time. Nice!

Posted by WA_REDNCK

Being a 7th Generation Texan myself it's clear you have NO CLUE.

Texans need NO special event to be proud.... and ...... YES....ARROGANT!!!!!

TEXAN is a State of mind that few others understand. And just moving there don't make you Texan. TEXAN takes at least 2 generations. It takes that long to GET IT!!!!

And for the record, comments such as this don't belittle us, it just makes it apparent how jealous some people are that THEY aren't the REAL DEAL!!!!

You are looking at the view out my patio window some time after 9 this morning.

When the sun lit up the place I saw a few flakes falling, of the tiny sort that makes for what is called powder snow in the northwest

I don't know if it's called powder snow in Texas.

By the time I was in the pool, for a short duration, the powder had turned to big fluffy flakes. Coming up on 10 the snow has switched back to powder.

It is 32 degrees, right now, but the ground is not freezing, so the flakes that hit the ground melt before another one lands on top of it. In other words, it is not white out there.

Snow is predicted to fall all day, but not to add up to much, but, if more than a couple inches piles up, it will break the record for total snowfall in a Dallas/Fort Worth winter. So far we have had 15.7 inches of snow this winter. The record is 17.6 inches in the winter of 1977-78.

I can not remember when I have ever been more ready for a winter to turn into spring.

The Queen of Wink has started a Facebook Cause Page as part of ongoing efforts to save Carter Avenue and Steve Doeung from the corrupt City Government of Fort Worth and the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Companies who are running roughshod over the Victims of the Shale, abusing eminent domain, endangering citizens, polluting the air, and the water.

Monday, February 22, 2010

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for North Texas, from 3am tomorrow morning, til 9:45pm, Tuesday.

How does the National Weather Service come up with such a precise time for the end of the bad weather?

As you can, in the middle of Monday afternoon it is only 4.2 degrees above freezing in Arctic Fort Worth, Texas.

Winter in Texas used to be cycles of a few cold days followed by days in the 70s and 80s.

Did Mother Nature not get the memo about Global Warming?

When my stir crazy neurosis kicked in, today at noon, I again went to my default walking location, Oakland Lake Park, to walk around Fosdic Lake.

It was windy and too cold. I was not having myself a fine time communing with nature. Though the birds were being interesting. I saw 2 huge herons, but they would not cooperate in posing for a picture.

The Fosdic Ducks did not seem to be liking the cold water, unlike me, this morning, when the pool was way warmer than the air. A big herd of Fosdic Ducks were out of the water and waddling on land.

I also saw a pair of Canadian Geese. The Canadians are aggressive geese, just like the people they are named after. I was chased and bitten by a Canadian Goose once. It hurt. Really bad.

I actually was also bitten by a Canadian once. And that also hurt. Not as bad as getting bit by a Canadian Goose, though.

If you see a Canadian Goose acting at all aggressive, as in coming towards you, well, you'll want to back off real quick.

The Fosdic Canadian Geese just maintained their position, they did not move at all. But, they did not take their evil Canadian Geese eyes off me.

I am venturing out into the cold again in a bit, going to Miss Puerto Rico's to fix her computer. Hopefully.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram was founded by a guy named Amon G. Carter. Even way back early in the last century there was a strange rivalry between Fort Worth and Dallas, which continues to this day, which is totally one-sided, with Dallas not knowing there is a rivalry.

If Amon Carter had to do business in Dallas, he would pack a lunch, so that he did not need to go to a restaurant and leave some of his Fort Worth money in Dallas.

Last month Amon Carter's great-grandson, Amon Carter IV, who goes by the name of Chance, was in the news due to a bizarre incident that happened during a ski trip to Breckinridge, Colorado with a group of his fellow Texas Christian University fraternity and sorority members, who had rented a house.

While about a dozen TCU students watched, with one videotaping, Amon Carter had the Greek symbols of his fraternity and a sorority branded on his butt.

The branding went badly, with Chance needing surgery for second and third degree burns. Chance will need more surgery to restore his butt to its pre-branding state.

Some versions of the story have Chance passed out while the branding took place. Alcohol had been consumed.

On Thursday Breckinridge authorities decided Chance participated in the branding of his buttocks willingly and no charges would be filed.

Chance told a local TV news guy that he consented to the branding, but not to what eventually happened.

That does not make a lot of sense to me.

So, why am I even telling this story? Well, I'm telling this story because I found it interesting that I did not read it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that being Amon Carter IV's great granddaddy's newspaper. I read it this morning in my old local newspaper, online, the Skagit Valley Herald.

Now, it's likely the Star-Telegram did print the story of the branding. I did not see it online. And when I Googled "Amon Carter branding" no Star-Telegram article came up. So, maybe they did not tell their readers what happened to Chance.

The Carter family was quite upset. Chance's dad, Amon Carter III, had a lawyer make sure the branding was investigated.

Chance said, ""Somewhere, somebody has to say this is not OK. My family doesn't think it's OK, and I am angry."

I'm not quite sure what Chance is angry about. Is he angry that he agreed to have his butt branded?

I had a roller blade fall once that ended up with an injury that looked similar to Chance's. It hurt real bad. And I was really angry about it. I didn't need surgery though and had a full recovery.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

It is 60 out there, right now, at 3 in the afternoon, on a semi-sunny Sunday, in balmy Fort Worth. As you can see, in the forecast, this return to the Texas of my memory will not last. Freezing returns tonight, with snow on Tuesday.

The high, so far today, has been 67. Clouds blot out the sun for a few minutes sending the temperature plummeting. And then the clouds move on and the temperature soars.

I have my windows open.

This morning I stayed in the pool the longest of 2010. But my pool time turned slightly unpleasant when I somehow managed to rip half my swimming suit off as I jumped into the pool. I knew the material was deteriorating, due to the ravages of time and sun, but I did not think it would catastrophically fail like that.

I should put the swimming suit back on and take a picture. I'll be right back, wearing my ripped up, wet swimming suit. It is a sad day. This was my favorite swimming suit. Now I have no favorite swimming suit. Well, there is my birthday suit.

My escape from here, today, was my current default escape, walking around Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park. I talked to Tootsie Tonasket on the way to the park.

When I parked at the park and exited my vehicle I was surprised at how much warmer it was than the 5 minutes earlier when I had entered my vehicle.

I was wearing long pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. I was way over dressed. I walked as I talked to Tootsie for about a minute when the phone made the incoming call noise. I never remember what button to push to switch calls. Eventually I hit a button that caused a call back, I think that's what happened.

Anyway, I heard someone saying hello, so I knew I'd hit the correct button. It was the Queen of Wink. I proceeded to talk to the Queen as I walked. The walking and talking went way longer than my usual walking and talking.

I overheated as I walked and talked. I believe this was the first time this year I have had beads of sweat form on my forehead in an outdoor venue. I'm pretty sure the beads of sweat were temperature related and not the result of having the Queen of Wink in my ear.

The Queen of Wink is amusing to talk to. She listens to my long-winded stories and laughs at the appropriate moment, indicating she's actually listening. Laughing at the appropriate moment gets big points with me.

I continued talking to the Queen when I entered the air-conditioned comfort of my vehicle to drive back to my abode. The Queen talk made lunch late. Which was fine, because I was not all that hungry.

It crossed my mind, ever so slightly, that I might be being slightly hyperbolic referring to Fort Worth's code compliance and police officers as Gestapo Stormtroopers.

This morning I learned new information regarding the details of the Gestapo Stormtrooper raid that turned it into an even more Nazi-like fascist intimidation abuse of power outrage.

To protest the Chesapeake Energy plan to run a pipeline under Carter Avenue Steve Doeung installed a visual protest in front of his house.

The visual protest was a 2 foot long green 16 inch pipeline on which 2 laminated signs were attached, saying "Stop the Carter Avenue Pipeline." That's Steve in his visual protest in the picture.

Steve Doeung was exercising his American Right to Free Speech.

On 3 occasions, in late November and early December, of 2009, within 1 to 3 days of Steve's visual protest appearing in some media form, such as in FW Weekly, the City of Fort Worth sent in its stormtroopers, on a raid, to write up citations regarding Steve's visual protest, with the citations saying Steve had committed a code violation by having a "discarded item in public view."

Each of the citations carry fines ranging from $250 to $2,000.

You reading this in non-Texas America. Aren't you proud to have Fort Worth in our country?

Or are you ashamed that a city like this is in America?

Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. It's not really Fort Worth that's the problem. It's Fort Worth's corrupt city government, led by a mayor, Mike Moncrief, elected in a 70% landslide by the 6% of voters who bothered to vote. Fort Worth's corrupt mayor makes over $600,000 a year from the gas drilling companies poking holes in his town.

The City of Fort Worth Gestapo Stormtrooper intimidation raids on Steve Doeung's home are an example of the bad things that can happen when you have a Conflicts of Interest laden mayor who is a lapdog of an industry doing business in his town.

Can't someone somewhere follow the chain of orders that led to the raids on Steve Doeung?

Can't someone somewhere see that the Gestapo Stormtrooper raids on Steve Doeung are a criminal abuse of power?

Can't someone somewhere in this town of Fort Worth, besides me and a few others, see how wrong it is that Mike Moncrief is on the take from the gas drillers, while he makes decisions regarding that gas drilling?

Like the decision to run raids on Steve Doeung. On 3 occasions.

Who ordered that all the celebratory American flags be removed from Carter Avenue? Remember those flags that were celebrating Chesapeake Energy saying there was an alternative route for the non-odorized natural gas pipeline?

This was another expression of free speech stifled by Fort Worth's fascists.

Think I'm wrong to refer to the city government that ordered the raids on Steve Doeung as fascists?

Well, from Wikipedia, "Fascist governments forbid and suppress openness and opposition to the fascist state and the fascist movement."

You know, like how Mike Moncrief runs his city council meetings. Or how he won't speak to Fort Worth Weekly. Or put himself in any situation where he can be asked hard questions. Like a courtroom.

Suppress opposition to the state? Like taking down American flags, and fining a man for protesting a plan to run, what he believes to be a potentially dangerous pipeline, under his home.

The people of Fort Worth need to start doing some heavy duty rabble rousing and protesting and opposing and run the fascists out of this other-wise fine town.

The cute, new eye-catching billboard, located along I-30 near downtown Fort Worth, appears harmless at first glance. What could be more benign that a little green, cartoon dinosaur with a puff of gas coming out its, um, tailpipe?

Ah, there's the rub. The message brought to you by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is not really about dinosaurs or fossil hunting or even most fossil fuels. It is about natural gas. It's about convincing citizens of shale that natural gas is nothing to fear. More than that-

The message on the billboard is a symbol of the rot at the core of this fabled Fort Worth institution.

In an effort to satisfy the demands of their new oil and gas benefactors, the FWMoS&H, has dabbed a little cartoon lipstick on the filthy fuel that is poisoning the air, land and water of north Texas. They have used dirty energy bucks to create an ad campaign that rewrites and distorts history.

Among the victims of this perversion are the children of the shale whose still-growing lungs, brains and endocrine systems are more impacted by the significant pollutants coming from thousands of gas well facilities in north Texas.

How is it possible that one of Fort Worth's most trusted institutions could stoop to this level? Why did they sell out the children of the shale? The answer lies in the list of corporate donors who contributed to the construction of the recently completed FWMoS&H building. Meet the REAL owners of the museum:

The museum's Board of Directors was infiltrated and or influenced by these energy companies. The Energy Blast exhibit, a fawning glorification of natural gas in the Barnett Shale would never have happened without them. Representatives of these companies wormed their way onto the board with promises of big bucks to make big dreams come true. But there would be strings attached to this faux-philanthropy.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Around noon I took off for Town Talk with a stop at Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake. I am such a pathetic creature of habit.

As you can see in the picture the Fosdic Birds were having themselves a fine time today, with a lot of feeding going on. The Fosdic Birds make quite a loud racket when they are all happy about getting fed.

As I walked today I found myself being quietly contemplative. There really was no other option than to be quiet. I was dwelling on Human Cancers and Toxic People. I don't mean cancer of the sort that attacks humans. I'm talking about Humans who are like Cancers.

I used to know an extremely Toxic Person. I did not realize til I removed the Toxicity that dealing with the Toxic Person was like having a Human Cancer being a tumor on my good humor. It was not long after a good dose of radiation, chemo therapy and bitch slapping, that I found myself in full remission.

Getting rid of a Human Cancer is a smart move. I recommend it if you have any such tumor bugging you.

And then a couple days ago, out of the blue, the Human Cancer was back, as Toxic as ever, invading in new areas.

But, the Human Cancer was found early and I zapped it with an extremely strong dose of my own personal brand of radiation. I am prepared to increase the dosage, should the Human Cancer re-appear.

I suspect I am Human Cancer free again. I can only hope.

Tootsie Tonasket, aka Princess Thunderumper of the Tonasket Tribe, called today. Princess Thunderumper was being rather amusing. I don't get how she stays in such a good state of mind with all the soap opera that swirls about her in her little Eastern Washington town.

So, that's been my exciting Saturday, so far. Up really early, FTP nightmare solved, actually managed to stay in the pool for the longest time of the new year, Fosdic Lake walking, Human Cancer treatments.

And now I am heading into Saturday night, which if anyone ever pays any attention, notice might have been made that I rarely make mention of anything that happens after 5pm. My no mentioning things in the blog time zone is from 5pm until 4am. I rarely violate that rule.

The Temporary Scrabble Queen of Hawaii is back on the mainland, resuming her Scrabble Queen of Washington duties.

I think she beat me 3 times in the past week. Just when I start doing better at coming up with words, the Scrabble Queen amps it up and starts inventing words I've never heard of, worth a lot of points.

I virtually visited the Scrabble Queen when she was on Kauai, via Google Earth. If you've not installed Google Earth on your computer, you really should. It's free. Just Google it.

With the barest of hints I've tried to use Google Earth to visit the Scrabble Queen in her home port in the Skagit Valley. I only found one candidate the seemed to meet the criteria. Except I could see no obvious horse pasture.

I was going to send this photo via a Facebook message, to the Scrabble Queen. But Facebook is all messed up this morning.

It appears Facebook got the message that its users were not pleased with the changes that showed up recently, and is reverting to its previous format. I don't use Facebook all that much, but enough that I found the changes pointless and confusing.

Another Queen has gone missing this morning, that being the Queen of Wink. Yesterday she told me, when she got home from school, at around 4:30, she was going to send me some important information and instructions as to how I could help with a project of hers.

Last night the Queen of Wink blogged about school kids in Pecos, Texas refusing to go to school in protest over the firing of the school's Athletic Director, last name Hensen. I do not know if Hensen has a first name. The Queen did not mention it.

Apparently the Kermit ISD School Board in the notorious town of Kermit, Texas, booted their Superintendent, last name Lujan. Again, I don't know if Lujan has a first name. The Queen did not mention it.

The Lujan guy somehow landed a new Superintendent job a short distance away, in Pecos, where he continued his bad boy ways with the ouster of the well liked Athletic Director.

Which led to Pecos kids refusing to return to school.

That is quite a display of gumption on the part of those West Texas Pecos kids. Very impressive.

The Queen of Wink makes a very good point. As in there are issues here in Fort Worth and its surrounding areas that it would seem would cause citizens to rise up in protest.

On March 4 Steve Doeung is back in court, fighting Chesapeake Energy's abuse of eminent domain, in their attempt to install a non-odorized natural gas pipeline under Steve Doeung's home.

Now, I am thinking here with my Pacific Northwest mindset, where protesting is a way of life. You may have seen some of that going on at the Vancouver Olympics. If what is being done to Steve Doeung were happening in the Pacific Northwest, and trust me on this, nothing like this would happen up there, but if it did, you would see large numbers of people protesting the trampling of one American's Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness by corporate and government thuggery.

I'm thinking a very large group needs to be causing a ruckus in downtown Fort Worth on March 4. Anyone agree?

I was vexed all day yesterday by being unable to FTP website files to a Yahoo Business account. By day's end I had downloaded and installed 4 different FTP programs.

To no avail.

In all the years I've been doing this Internet stuff I'd never had any problem with FTP. Nor with uploading files to a website that wasn't cooperating.

Anyway, this morning I re-started my computer, then re-started the FileZilla FTP program, that Yahoo recommends. Why Yahoo recommends this program, I do not know. It is very clunky to use, unlike my good, long lasting WS FTP program that's worked fine for years.

But, clunky as FileZilla was, I successfully connected and uploaded the fixes.

So, now the sun is up, the birds are chirping, it's 52 degrees, and I'm going swimming after it gets a bit brighter out there.

We are not hitting 60 today. I was a bit under dressed for today's walking. So I walked real fast to try and warm up.

As I was walking along it crossed my mind that I'd not seen an armadillo in a long time. I wondered what those funny little beasts do when it freezes. When I do see armadillos they are always in heavy duty rooting around for food mode.

Well, about 10 minutes later what do I see? An armadillo. It was a mid-size one. When I saw him/her it was standing on its hind legs. This I had not seen before. I quickly got out my camera, but not quick enough.

Armadillos do not have good eye sight. They rely on sound to warn them of danger. I was making no sounds. But the armadillo took off running. I had not seen an armadillo run before like this guy did. I chased after him, snapping pictures on the run. The little guy out ran me and disappeared into the brush.

I did not get single picture of the armadillo.

Why was this guy such an alarmist? Usually you can walk right up to one. You can easily pick one up if you want to. An armadillo makes a funny squeaky noise when you pick one up. I thought the armadillo defense when scared was not to run, but to roll up inside the armor. I've seen that behavior before, I've not seen the speed demon armadillo defense before.

My previous armadillo run-ins have been like the one in the picture, where they could care less that you are right by them. These guys were in River Legacy Park having themselves an ant buffet.

I was laying on the sidewalk taking pictures. One of them must have thought I might be a fresh log full of ants, so it started coming towards me. I kept waiting for it to stop. It was like a game of chicken. I blinked first. I did not want that armadillo snout trying to suck ants of me.

I have tried 4 different FTP programs to try and upload website files to a Yahoo account. I was able to successfully connect with something called Filezilla, and I got some of the files transferred, but then it balked, something to do with unallowed characters.

And then this morning I found that a scary Big Ghost from my past was stalking my blog and my co-blogger's blogs, this after this Big Ghost has long said she was out of my life, she's now back in full Toxic mode.

At least I'm not having to look at her in person, so I guess I should be thankful for that.

It is sort of frustrating, when you think you are well rid of something and that something has pretty much faded from memory, and then to have it back. In any form.

This is not the first reappearance of this particular irksome pest. A few months ago she emailed me asking if I wanted to re-start a website we did a long long time ago called Lulu & Durango in As The WWWeb Turns. I declined the offer, reminding Lulu that the original version did not work out very well.

Looking at that picture of Lulu, taken the last day I saw her, that's a year and a half ago, I wonder how much bigger she's grown? How is she able to get on an airplane? That's sort of an impressive feat.

Anyway, anyone with a Yahoo FTP solution, please step forward and identify yourself, or just give me an anonymous answer. I need help.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

This coming Saturday, 2-20-2010, there is a Big Event in Fort Worth. That being the Tandy Hills Brush Bash 2. Brush Bash 2 runs from 10am til 3pm.

Also taking place on Saturday, at the Fort Worth Stockyards, in the Cowtown Coliseum, is a political event called HIGH NOON COWTOWN.

I have been invited to both events. Very politely invited.

I confess, I've paid no real attention to the Tea Party/It's Time For A Change/High Noon movement, if that's what it is. From my understanding, admittedly likely limited, this group skews to the right and to the somewhat reactionary. I know this is not universally the case, it's just the direction it skews.

Looking at the HIGH NOON COWTOWN website I see this event starts at noon and runs til 3pm. Three hours long, of what appears to be listening to a long list of political candidates, only one of whom I have heard of, Debra Medina, and what I've heard, about her, is not pretty.

Debra Medina is running for Governor of Texas against the current Governor of Texas (it's so bizarre this guy is the governor) Rick Perry and Texas Senator (it's so bizarre this woman is a Senator) Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

What happened to the good old days when Texas gave America politicians like Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Barbara Jordan and Anne Richards?

So, Debra Medina was being interviewed by Glen Beck. Beck began inquiring of Medina about something called "9/11 truthers."

Medina was a bit obfuscating, so Beck asked her directly, "Do you believe the government was in any way involved in the bringing down of the World Trade Centers on 9/11?"

Now, anyone, with any common sense, let alone a politician running for office in Texas, would know to instantly respond that that was the stupidest thing they've heard since they don't know when. Or words to that effect.

Instead, Medina said, "I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard. There are some very good arguments, and I think the American people have not seen all of the evidence there, so I have not taken a position on that."

Uh, is this not a your political career is over level of idiotic mistake?

I wish Beck would have asked Ms. Medina if she was a Holocaust Denier.

So, why in the world would this HIGH NOON COWTOWN event have this Medina trainwreck as the last speaker of the day? She can not possibly become the governor of Texas at this point, can she? I would think this woman would be shunned by serious political sorts at this point in time. Not asked to speak at high noon, well, actually closer to 3, in Cowtown.

As you can see the walking today was done in a short sleeved shirt. Right now, at a little past 4 in the afternoon it is 60. The high today has been 62.

62!

Is this the first time it has been in the 60s this year in my formerly Arctic area of North Texas? I don't remember.

I think I'll open a window just because it will feel good. And will help cool me down. The low tonight is supposed to get down to 45. Previously, anytime a day's average stayed above 50 the pool heated up enough to make swimming for 10-15 minutes doable. We'll see.

With the window open I hear a lot of birds chirping. Very happy, are they, with this hint of the coming spring. It is a symphony of bird chirping out there. Such an upbeat sound. It almost cures what ails me.

On the flip side of the cover of this week's Fort Worth Weekly there is a half page political ad that caught my eye.

The name of the guy who paid for the ad seemed familiar but I did not remember why til I went to his website.

Billy Mitchell. I first heard of him when he put up the billboard you see in the picture.

Victim of eminent domain abuse in, I believe, Parker County. That is the county to the west of the county I live in, that being Tarrant. Parker County has this real nice annual event called the Parker County Peach Festival.

Billy Mitchell is not a fan of Texas Governor, Rick Perry. I don't know anyone who is. But Perry somehow gets elected governor. I call this type thing the Mike Moncrief Conundrum.

I think I'll go to the bother of typing in Billy Mitchell's ad. I will change one word though. I will change "crap" to "bull" because I saw on his website someone suggested he do so...

I BELIEVE RICK PERRY'S ONLY ASSET IS BEAUTIFUL HAIR: OTHERWISE HE IS JUST COMPLETELY FULL OF BULL!!!

Is it really necessary for Governor Rick Perryand his wife to live in a three story mansion at$10,000 a month bill to Texas taxpayers?

Texas Governor Bill Clements moved to a$1,500 a month condominium when repairs forcedhim out of the Governor's mansion.

A couple days ago I realized I'd sort of stuck my head back in the sand, tired of being a fruitless ostrich, howling at the moon. I'm one of the naive sorts who think if you point out something obviously wrong, that the obvious wrong will get rectified. Sometimes it does. But more often not.

Like if you explain what Conflicts of Interest are and how the Mayor of Fort Worth, Mike Moncrief, makes more than $600,000 a year from the various Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers operating in the town of which he is mayor, and who does not recuse himself from decision making regarding the gas drillers, well, this is what is known as criminal activity, possibly even racketeering.

Minimally Mike Moncrief should be removed from office. Ideally, removed from office, brought to trial, convicted and imprisoned with a healthy multi-million dollar fine.

I don't know why the federal government, via the FBI does not do something. Then again, Texas is now a state willing to sue the federal government, as in the EPA, to try and put a stop to the federal government's attempts to get Texas to stop being so environmentally irresponsible.

The various Texas state agencies, like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, show little concern, if any, regarding the air pollution issues which have arisen from the Barnett Shale drilling and how that pollution is affecting the health of Texans. Even after troubling statistics crop up, such as something like 25% of Barnett Shale kids have asthma, while the non-Barnett Shale kids of Texas have a 7% asthma rate.

So, the state of Texas decides to deal with the pollution problem by suing the federal agency that is trying to look out for the best interests of the majority of Texans, not just those Texans making money by poking holes in the ground.

Now, back to Steve Doeung, Fort Worth's #1 Lone Ranger. He is due to be back in court, to face Chesapeake Energy and the City of Forth Worth, again, in a few weeks, in his solo fight to stop the abuse of eminent domain to take his property so that an un-odorized natural gas pipeline can be run under his house.

Would you like an un-odorized natural gas pipeline under your house?

How would you feel about eminent domain being abused, in cahoots with the city you live in, to attack you in this way?

If Steve Doeung had committed a crime, I don't know, like if he had invaded someone's home to intimidate someone, Steve would be provided with legal assistance. But here we have Steve being attacked by what is widely believed to be a very corrupt, likely to a criminal level, corporation called Chesapeake Energy, in cooperation with the City of Fort Worth, which is also corrupt, and there is no legal help available for Steve Doeung.

A wise man once supposedly said, "What you do to the least among us, you do unto me."

Is there not one single lawyer in all of North Texas, or America, willing to help Steve Doeung in his fight to keep his home safe?

Is there not one lawyer, anywhere, who can see the possibility of helping Steve Doeung bring a counter-suit against Chesapeake Energy and the City of Fort Worth? Just go from the city ordered home invasion and build from there.

In the oft chance that 60 Minutes has someone watching for Google Alerts that mention 60 Minutes. Well, here in Fort Worth we've got a story that the rest of America needs to know about. We've got a man named Steve Doeung, who came to America to escape the Khmer Rouge, who is now under an equally insidious attack in his adopted country, America, a place Steve Doeung believed really was about Truth, Justice and something called the American Way, that American Way being a country where we can speak our mind to fight for our rights.

Ever heard of the phrase "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?" Those 3 concepts are at the base of our rights as Americans. Without fearing repercussion you can not trifle with the Life of an American. You can not trifle with the Liberty of an American. You can not trifle with the Pursuit of Happiness of an American.

In Fort Worth, Texas, which is part of America, the City of Fort Worth and its partner, Chesapeake Energy, has conspired to extremely trifle with the Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness of American, Steve Doeung.

There will be repercussions.

This trifling with Steve Doeung needs to stop. Why is this case even being allowed to continue, after Chesapeake Energy admitted there was another route for the pipeline, one which would not go under homes? Why has this case not been thrown out?